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Cramer Remix: I need to see better earnings before recommending this stock

"I'm not gonna recommend Ford. They are such a show me situation," CNBC's Jim Cramer says.

"They absolutely ... have to put up to get not one but two good quarters before I'll even think about recommending it," the "Mad Money" host says.

"I'm going to give you five reasons why it's so hard to make money in the stock market ... [preparing] you for the inevitable pain that comes with owning individual stocks," he says.

CNBC's Jim Cramer took a call from a viewer about the stock of Ford F , one of the iconic Big Three automotive companies that calls metro Detroit home.

The "Mad Money" host said he's not buying it.

"I'm not gonna recommend Ford. They are such a show me situation," he said. "They absolutely, absolutely, absolutely have to put up to get not one but two good quarters before I'll even think about recommending it to my viewers."

Perils of the market

Investors must be aware of potential rewards and beware the potential risks when buying a stock because anything can happen on the stock market, Cramer said.

There are five current events that illustrate the "perils" of individual stock picking and why shareholders must have a strong stomach, he said. From the top plane manufacturer to the top social media platform to the divided politics across the pond, negative news can change the direction of an equity in a matter of seconds.

"I'm going to give you five reasons why it's so hard to make money in the stock market ... [preparing] you for the inevitable pain that comes with owning individual stocks," the host said. "These have all snuck up on people, making them queasy. If the thought of them scares you, then you might want to rethink how you invest your money."

There are many advantages in owning stocks, but index funds provide the best market exposure, he said.

Read more here

Pump the brakes

Carvana CVNA has been on a hot streak. The stock is up about 7 percent this week, 70 percent in 2019 and 160 percent year-over-year.

Still, the online used-car platform is roughly $17 off of its all-time high in September after slipping with the rest of the market in the fourth quarter. Cramer said it was crushed without a specific reason.

The host acknowledged that he mistakenly recommended buying Carvana's weakness in October—the stock eventually touched $28 prior to Christmas. Carvana has since recovered, without big news, much of those losses and caught a spark despite disappointing quarter results two weeks ago to close shy of $56 Thursday, he said.

"When Carvana was reporting great numbers in the fourth quarter and its stock was going down, it was a fabulous buying opportunity," Cramer said. "Now, though, we keep getting what I'd consider to be bad news ... [in a] scathing research report, a disappointing quarter, [but] the stock keeps going higher. At these levels, you know what I say [sell].

Get Cramer's full insight here

A transparent turnaround

General Electric GE will be open about its struggles and the goals it expects to achieve in the company's turnaround plan, CEO Larry Culp told CNBC.

"I think what we're gonna try to do, frankly, is to share with people in as transparent a way as we possibly can, what those issues are ... and the plan that we have," he said in a sit-down interview with Cramer. "But it will take-- time. And we don't wanna sugarcoat this."

Read more and catch the interview here

Improving the trucking lifestyle

With online shopping growing and new safety regulations in place, the shipping industry is short on truck drivers, Cramer said. He talked with the co-founders of Transfix to learn how the private company is addressing the supply chain of freight shipping.

"Ultimately, we want to empower whomever wants to be a truck driver and historically truck driving can be a fantastic profession," Transfix co-founder and CEO Drew McElroy said. "In the last 20 years, it has been a very difficult lifestyle. The ability to both drive quantitative [return on investment] as well as qualitative life improvements, we think makes the profession much more attractive."

See the full interview here

A tale of two stocks

"Boeing BA is a question mark," Cramer said.

He called it a "battleground" stock in the wake of two 737 Max jet tragedies in recent months. The bulls and bears are divided on the stock's performance, and the analysts have differing projections on how long the software fix for the top-selling airplanes will take, he said.

On the other hand, Cramer thinks Dell Technologies DELL is in an interesting position. He noted the computer maker is carrying more than $50 billion in debt on $10 billion cash flow.

"Dell has no real bear case aside from the balance sheet and I think that's overblown," Cramer said. "Boeing has potentially a huge amount of risk."

Click here to hear Cramer's recommendations

Cramer's lightning round: This bank is too good to sell at this price

In Cramer's lightning round, the "Mad Money" host gave callers his thoughts on their stock picks.

Bank of America Corp. BAC : "No, it's too inexpensive [to sell]. ... I don't want you to sell it and if it comes down, maybe you buy some more. I just think it's too good a company to let loose at these prices."

YY Inc. YY : "YY, no. ... I don't like the stock YY, though. Why? Because it's a Chinese company of let's say of indeterminate earnings. So let's take a pass."

Okta Inc. OKTA : "I think they're a great company. I mean if you're up really big, obviously no one ever got hurt taking a little profit. But Okta is a great company and good for the long term."